Looking relaxed in a pale blue pantsuit and rocking her hair in loose blonde waves, the Academy Award-winning actress spoke to reporters at the summer Television Critics Association about her move from the big screen to the small, in the upcoming Amazon series Homecoming.

Set to debut in November, Homecoming, which is based on the popular podcast of the same name, follows Roberts' character, Heidi Bergman -- a caseworker at a facility for soldiers returning from war -- and her complex relationship with one of the returning veterans, played by newcomer Stephan James. In a second timeline four years later, where Heidi has left the facility, she is questioned by a Department of Defense auditor who begins to unravel the reasons behind her departure.

"I just think that what Eli [Horowitz] and Micah [Bloomberg] have written is such a great, sort of old-fashioned yarn set in this really modern conundrum of a morality play," Roberts said.

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Homecoming reunites the 50-year-old actress with her My Best Friend's Wedding co-star Dermot Mulroney, who, she joked, is "finally" playing her boyfriend. "It only took 30 years!"

The Amazon series marks the first television outing for the big screen star, but she said it was the opportunity to collaborate with director Sam Esmail on a more in-depth story and "unravel things for people" that drew her to the role.

And the chance to work in television was a draw in itself. "For me, it's nice to bring something into people's homes. I feel like we're a delivery service, delivering entertainment right to their doorstep," she joked.

Although the experience of filming the show was similar to being on-set for a movie shoot, Roberts said it was "a great mental challenge" every day in helping to realize Esmail's directorial vision. It's not just about having ourselves prepared, it's about can you be prepared and walk up and down 10 flights of stairs and keep it going, and be on the phone, and prepare a 10-course meal, and juggling with your feet, she said. "So it was exciting for the crew to figure out ways to accomplish his dreams as for all of us, I think."